Automatic stropper.



PATENTED FEB. 10, 1903.

`AUTolselATIG STROPPER. APPLIQATIUN HIa-BD- 00T. 20, 1002.

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1HE Norms PErERs Co. Phorum-Na. wpsmnoom n, c,

UNITED STAT-Es PATENT CFFICE.

VARTHUR C. GAYNOR, OF YBRIYDGIDIPORYI, CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC STR'O'PPER.

SPECIFICATION farming parrot' Letters Patent No.- 720,417, dated February 1o, 1903. Application tied october 2o, 1902. serai Nui 127,914. (No man.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it knownthat I, ARTHUR C. GAvNoR, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residin g at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Automatic Stropper, of which the following is a specification. l

My invention has forlits object to provide` a simple, inexpensive, and thoroughly prac-V ticalautomatiestropperfor'razor-blades more especially adapted for .stropping the blades of safety-razors,although a larger-sized stropper made in accordance with the principle of my invention isequally adapted tothe stropf ping of ordinary razor-blades. .4 Y A With the above end in View I have devised the simple and' novelrazor-stropper which I will now describe, referring tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and using reference characters to indicate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a side'elevationof my novelv stropper complete, the. str op being partly; drawn out; Fig.` 2, a plan viewthereof, the.

normal'position of the blade-holder and'blade being indicated lbyvdotted lines; Fig. 3, a section on the lline in Fig. 2; Fig. 4, an inverted plan view, the case being in section on the line44 in Ffig; yand Fig. 5 is a plan View of the bearinglspring detached.

10 denotes the strop, which may be a stripV of leather or canvas and is made self-windin g on a roller 11, controlled by a spring 12, the roller and the strop in its normal or wound position being inclosed in'a suitable Lcase 13.

14 is a plate or tablewhioh is made integral With or rigidly securedfto theucase and extends outward therefrom contiguous to a slot 15, through which"the'stropfpasses in winding and unwinding. l v

16 denotes a rack atone side of the table, which may bemade .integral With 'the table or rigidly secured thereto. At each-end of the rack is an enlarged'zspace or 'depression 17, adapted for engagement by a tooth much larger than the teeth which engage the rack itself.

A denotes a carrier which is adapted to reciprocate upon the table. The carrier is shown as retained in operative position by means of lugs 18 on the carrier, which are curved about the edge of the table, and a ithe increased leverage.

screw 19, which passes through a slot 2O in the table and engages the carrier, the head of the screw lying on the under side of the `table, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

be understood, however, that these details of It should construction are of little importance and do `not affect Ythe principle of the invention.

A21 denotes bearings which extend upward `onopposite sides ofthe table in which the shaft 22 of an oscillatory blade-holder B is joilrnaled.`

23 denotes a segment-pinion at one end of the shaft, which engages the rack on the table and is provided-with two enlarged teeth 24, which are adapted to engage the spaces `or depressions 17, respectively, at the ends of,

carried by the blade-holder down firmly upon the strop as it is drawn outward'by hand iror drawn inward by the spring, as will be 'morefully explained. By using asmall seg- Ament-gear and correspondingrack to oscillate the blade-holder and enlarged rack-teeth and corresponding spaces or depressions when increased leverage is required upon the bladeholderlsecure a maximum leverage,and consequently maximum pressure of the blade upon the strop, While at the same time the construction of the instrument as a whole is as compact as-it could be made even without The essential features of the. blade holder are spring side plates 25, which may be made from a single piece of metal curved about the shaft and secured thereto, as by a rivet 26, and a back spring-27, against which the back of a blade Crests while being stropped. The ends of the back spring may be secured to the` shaft in-.any suitable manner. I nthe present instance'l have showrthapnds of the back spring as bentfsubstantiallyat right angles to the body thereof, the ends of the shaft being passed through holes in the ends of the back spring. These details of construction,

however, as well as those above referred to, are not of the essence of the invention. The strop after leaving the case passes n nder crossbars 28, whose ends are rigidly secured in lugs 29 on opposite sides ofthe ends of the IOO table and over a bearing spring or springs 30. The form ot bearing-spring which I preferably use may be formed from a single piece of metal or may, it' preferred, be formed in parts and be rigidly secured together. It consists of bearing-pieces 35 and side strips 36 by which they are connected. The side strips have raised central portions 37 and contactpoints 3S intermediate the central portion and the bearing-strips. The bearing-springs are adjustably secured to the carrier by means of screws 3l, which pass through slots 32 in the table and engage central portions 37 of the sidestrips. "When screws 3l are turned in, the effect will be to draw down central portions 37 of the side strips, and consequently to correspondingly tilt bearing-pieces 35 through the engagement of the contactpoints with the plate or table. I have shown the case as provided with a ring 33 for convenience in suspending in use and the end of the strop as provided with a loop 34, also for convenience in use.

The operation is as follows: Having placed the blade to be stropped in the blade-holder the operator suspends the sti-opper in any convenient manner, as by engaging ring 33 with a convenient hook, and alternately draws the strop out ofthe case by means of loop 34E and allows the spring-controlled roller to draw it in again. Suppose the strop to be in its normal position -that is, drawn fully in and wound upon the self-windingrollerand the stropper to be suspended from a hook or any Xed object. As the operator pulls upon loop 34, owing to the fact of the strop being gripped with a yielding pressure between cross-bars 28 and the bearingpieces of spring D carrier A will at first move outward with the strop, and segment-pinion 23, carried thereby, will engage the rack on the table, the effect of which will be to oscillate the blade-holder and carry the blade from its normal position (indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2) to the position shown in full lines in Figs. l, 2, and 3. As soon as the blade comes in contact with the strop it will stop the oscillation of the blade-holder and make it impossible for the carrier to move outward any farther. The pull upon the strop, however, both in drawing out and winding will cause the strop to slip through the carrierfreely, and thusstrop the blade. It should be noted as an important feature of this invention that the engagement ot' one of the large teeth 2-1- of the pinion with one of the enlarged spaces or depressions I7 in the rack will exert the saine leverage upon shaft 22 and will press the blade down upon the strop with just as much power as if the teeth and spaces of the rack and pinion were all made the same size as teeth 24 and spaces or depressions 17. Continued pull upon the strop draws it along over the side of the blade, thereby stropping it as eiiect-ively as it could be done by hand and very much more easily and quickly, the blade being pressed down irmly, as already described, on the strop, which itself rests upon one of the bearing-pieces of spring D. As soon as the strop has been drawn outward to its full length or as far as convenient the pull thereon is relaxed, and spring l2 is allowed to rotate roller 1l and wind the strop thereon, the same action being repeated as when the strop was drawn outward. Owing to the grip of the bearing-pieces and cross-bars of the carrier upon the strop the carrier will commence to move inward with the strop, which through the engagement of the pinion with the rack will oscillate the blade-holder and blade and swing the latter from the position shown in full lines in Figs. l, 2, and 3 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, in which-position it will remain while the strop is being drawn inward over the opposite side of the blade and until the strop is again drawn outward and the blade-holder oscillated to place the side of the blade first operated upon again in contact with the strop. This operation of drawing out the strop and then letting it rewind 'may be repeated in use as long as may be necessary io strop the blade, it beingunderstood that the blade-holder will be reversed, so as to place the opposite side of the blade in contact with the strop each time the movement of the strop is reversed.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. In a device ofthe characterdescribed the combination with a strop and a self-Winding roller therefor, of a table having a fixed relation to the winding-roller, a carrier adapted to reciprocate thereon and having frictional engagement with the strop, an oscillatory' blade-holder on the carrier and connections intermediate the blade-holder and the table, whereby the blade-holder is oscillated each time the movement of the strop is reversed, the carrier moving with the strop until oscillation of the blade-holder is stopped, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the character described the combination with a strop and a self-Winding roller therefor, of a table having a ixed relation to the winding-roller, a carrier adapted to reciprocate thereon and having frictional engagement with the strop and an oscillatory blade-holder journaled on the carrier, reciproeation of the carrier and oscillation of the blade-holder being produced through frictional engagement of the carrier with the strop.

3. In a device ofthe character described the combination with a strop and a self-winding roller therefor, of a case inclosing the roller and having a slot through which the strop may pass, a table contiguous to the slot and having a fixed relation to the winding-roller, a reciprocating carrier having frictional engagement with the strop, an oscillatory bladeholder on the carrier and operating connections intermediate the blade-holder and the table, whereby when the carrier commences to move through frictional engagement with IIO the strop the blade-holder will be oscillated to place the opposite side of a blade in engagement with the strop.

4. In a device of the character described the combination with a strop and a self-winding roller therefor, of a table having a rack and at the ends thereof enlarged spaces and having a fixed relation to the winding-roller, a carrier adapted to reciprocate on the table and having frictional engagement with the strop, and an oscillatory blade-holder having a segment-pinion engaging the rack and enlarged teeth adapted to engage the respective spaces, the additional leverage of the enlarged teeth and spaces acting to increase the pressure of a blade upon the strop.

5. In a device of the character described the combination with a strop and a self-winding roller therefor, of a table supported in xed relation to the winding-roller, a reciprocating carrier having a bearing-spring comprising bearing-pieces and side strips having raised central portions and contact-points, crossbars above the bearing-pieces and means for adjusting the pressure of the bearing-pieces to regulate the tension on the strop and an oscillatingblade-holderjournaled on the carrier.

6. In a device of the character described the combination with a strop, a self-winding roller therefor and a case for the roller having a slot through which the strop may pass, of a fixed table extending outward from the case contiguous to the slot and having a rack, a carrier adapted to reciprocate on the table, a blade-holder journaled on the carrier and having a pinion engaging the rack and means upon the carrier for providing frictional engagement with the strop, substantially as described.

7. In adevice of the character described the combination with a strop and a self-winding roller therefor, of a table supported in fixed relation to the winding-roller, a carrier adapted to reciprocate on the table, a blade-holder journaled on the carrier, connections intermediate the blade-holder and the table whereby the blade-holder is oscillated by movement of the carrier and means upon the carrier for engaging the strop frictionally so that the carrier will move in either direction with the 5o strop until the oscillation of the blade-holder is completed.

8. In a device of the character described the combination with a strop and a self-winding roller therefor, of a table supported in fixed relation to the winding-roller, a carrier adapted to reciprocate on the table,'a blade-holder journaled on the carrier, connections intertermediate the blade-holder and the table, whereby `the blade-holder is oscillated by movement of the carrier, and cross-bars and a bearing-spring on the carrier between which the strop passes and which engage it frictionally.

9. In a device of the character described the combination With a strop and a self-winding roller therefor, of a table supported in xed relation to the winding-roller, a carrier adapted to reciprocate on the table, a blade-holder journaled on the carrier, connections intermediate the blade-holder and the table,where by the blade-holder is oscillated by movement of the carrier, cross-bars on the carrier and a spring over which the strop passes and which consists of bearing pieces and side strips having contact-points with the carrier and raised central portions engaged by screws 3l, whereby the pressure of the bearing-pieces upon the under side of the strop may be reg-v ulated.

l0. A device of the character described, comprising a table, a self winding roller mounted in bearings having a fixed relation to the table, a strop connected tothe roller and extending over the table, a blade-holder pivotally supported above the strop, and means for automatically oscillating the holder, whereby a blade may be stropped by one hand alternately pulling and releasing the strop, Without liability of contact of the fingers with the blade.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR C. GAYN OR.

Witnesses:

A. M. WoosTER, S. W. ATHERTON. 

